Glad it's not me.

Courtesy of Robin. I could make a whole website out of wet cats.

Nothing funnier than a wet cat.

More of them.

That's a leap!

Check out how much my blog's views jumped when everybody at MetLife passed the one about my Dad around. It's insane.

Emma poses as Homer Simpson.

My sister's dog is amazing. She just has an itch.

Nancy left me for Michael Jackson!

HOME WRECKER!

Linux In The News

Thought I'd plug this NY Times article about Linux and Ubuntu. Read it. Twice.

Top 10 Free Programs Normal People Should Know About

Spread the word! Chances are, anyone who likes computers and free things has heard of/used just about all of these. But the non-geeks need to see the light! So off we go:

Opera

Opera is a web browser, just like Internet Explorer and much hyped Mozilla Firefox. However, Opera just seems to do things a little bit better. Speed tests show that Opera is just one of the fastest browsers around, beating IE and Firefox, among others. It has built in RSS Aggregator, email client (which is where I get my Furman and Gmail messages routed to), mouse gestures, contacts, notes, blah blah blah. Plus it's skinnable. And it has some features that most others lack (such as a magic wand that saves your usernames and passwords for any website so you can log in automatically, a BitTorrent downloader, a speed dial which is like bookmarks on acid, and thousands of widgets to add more functionality). Opera is the man.

Audacity

Audacity is a free program for audio-editing. It's easy to use, does a good job, and is cross-platform. What more can you ask for?

The GIMP

The GIMP, or GNU Image Manipulation Program, is basically a free and open source Photoshop. It has most, if not all, of the functionality of Photoshop. While the user interface is pretty wacky at first, once you get used to it it's hard to turn back. I use it pretty much every day for one thing or another. For anyone who has ANY interest in photos or graphics whatsoever, why not give it a shot? It's free, right?

Google Desktop

For anyone who hasn't heard of desktop search tools, they're pretty dang cool. They index anything and everything on your hard drive, so whenever you want to find a picture, document, song, whatever...all you have to do is type part of the file name or the contents and results instantly pop up. Saves me the time of searching through all of my folders trying to remember where I stuck something. While Yahoo! and X1 have decent desktop search tools, I like Google's. Press ctrl twice for it to pop up, or you can just stick a little search box on the taskbar.

OpenOffice.org

OpenOffice.org provides a free and open source office suite. It looks and acts a lot like MS Office, but costs a couple hundred less dollars. OO includes a word processor, a spreadsheet, a presentation program, a database management program, a math function creator, and a drawing program. I haven't been able to find anything in MS Office that's missing from OpenOffice, so go ahead and support open source and save money.

Inkscape

Inkscape is a really cool free drawing program that works a lot like the expensive Adobe Illustrator. It is VERY capable, pretty user friendly, and not too bad looking either. It is vector based, so it stores each object as its own object which can be modified, rather than working in layers such as The GIMP. Check it out.

Winamp

Winamp is an awesome little media player. I used it religiously before I moved to Linux and switched to Audacious. It's skinnable, leaves a relatively small footprint on your CPU (i.e., much less than Windows Media Player but still more than something like Quintessential Player), has a built in Media Library, retrieval of streams from Shoutcast, and supports most video formats as well. It's probably the coolest media player for Windows there is.

Yahoo! Widgets

Yahoo! has a little engine for widgets, which are basically little tiny things you can put anywhere on your desktop to do almost anything you want. Look at the screen shot to really understand this. You can find computer information monitors, weather forecasts, media players, picture frames, note pads, even some that tell you where to find the cheapest gas or what is coming on TV that day. Part of the reason that Yahoo!'s system is so great is just because of the sheer number of widgets out there. There are TONS of them. Check it out.

Mozilla Thunderbird

Mozilla Thunderbird (from the same guys that make Firefox obviously) is a really popular email client. As far as free email systems go, it's pretty much the cream of the crop. Through plugins, it can even be set up to receive http messages, such as Hotmail and Yahoo, which most email clients aren't capable of. It's also skinnable (do we see a pattern developing?).

Picasa

Picasa is a program made by Google for managing and editing photos. It will organize, crop, modify, and view, and look really cool doing it. Anyone with a lot of photos should check it out.

Well that's that. Stay tuned for version two, which will be some programs that even the computer nuts may not know about.

Jeff Seltzer's Eulogy

Just got a copy of what Jeff said at Dad's funeral. Here it is for anyone who is saving everything:

For those who do not know me, my name is Jeff Seltzer. I have had the privilege to be a colleague of Rick’s for the past 15 years. During this time I have come to know Rick in many different ways: as a co-worker, as my boss, as a mentor, a peer, and a family man. And lastly I have been lucky to know him as my friend. It is an honor to stand before you and speak of this unique and special person.

Since receiving the news of Rick’s passing, I have been reflecting on our relationship these past 15 years. It is no surprise to realize Rick has made a positive and lasting impression on the lives of many people, mine included.

I 1st met Rick while I was a young computer programmer recently graduated from college. Rick was a senior member of the Information Technology Management Team at Liberty Life. I was initially intimidated by his presence and wowed by his intelligence. How completely wrong I was to be intimidated and how 100% right I was to be WOWED!

Rick possessed a unique combination of intelligence, humility, humor, and compassion. He was both a skilled communicator and listener.

I quickly came to realize these gifts shortly after I began to work for Rick. I remember the day clearly. I slumped into Rick’s office to notify him that I had made a mistake (actually failed) with an assignment he had given me. I was expecting the worst, but as I communicated my failure to Rick, a small smile emerged on his face (as if he knew all along that I would end up right where I was). He had used the assignment and my struggles as an opportunity to teach me some important lessons about people and leadership – things he knew so well. We made a connection on this day, and a lasting relationship was established. A relationship that I would call upon literally 1000’s of times over the next 15 years.

It was a pleasure to work with and watch Rick “in Action.” He could:

• Conquer the most complex challenge
  
• Defuse stressful moments
  
• Unify people towards common goals
  
• Make complex things simple and understandable
  
• Teach and mentor in various styles with lasting impact.
  

Rick’s list of professional accomplishments is long and impressive. He was able to succeed at anything he applied himself towards. I have witnessed Rick deliver complex software solution to their successful end state on many occasions. These accomplishments alone are impressive and to proud of. But Rick’s impact extends far beyond software delivery.

Rick’s professional legacy will largely be measured by the leadership he provided and the investment he made into the personal development of so many. I am one of the many, and credit Rick for “showing me the way” time and time again. He was always available to engage in dialogue and debate on a variety of topics. He was a great sounding-board and could listen intently while maintaining an open mind towards other points of view. And when needed - he could just “tell you what to do,” and make you think that you came up with the solution all on your own.

You always walked away from a conversation with Rick better than you were before it started.

I have heard others described Rick as “wise.” I think this is a perfect description and it extends outside the professional arena. He had knowledge of so many things: family, music, sports, history, and more. He was equally open to sharing his knowledge in these areas as he was in the professional areas. I recall numerous conversations with Rick where I sought his advice as I attempted to navigate through major life changing events. He was there for me when my wife and I married, and again when my wife and I brought children into the world. He was a generous giver of his time and his resources. I am a better husband, father, and person due to the wonderful life advice Rick has provided through the years.

And let’s not forget Rick’s creative sense of humor. I recall a story recently told to me by a co-worker – John Gilmore. John approached Rick and jokingly asked, “Rick, I have been living in the south for 2 years now since my move from the northeast, am I now a southerner?” Rick’s quick and witty response was, “a cat can have kittens in the oven, but that don’t make them biscuits.” I am pretty sure John got the point.

Mine is just one reflection of the positive impact Rick has had on so many of us. The sadness of his passing is felt outside the walls of Liberty Life, MetLife, and the local community. I have spoken to people in Texas, Minnesota, Canada, NY, NJ, and from other companies who have expressed how privileged they are to have been associated with Rick. We are all fortunate to have known Rick and can never express the gratitude we feel towards him for what he has done to brighten our lives and make us better people. His legacy will live on.

My sympathy goes out to everyone who knew Rick. The Crittenden family has lost a valued love one, co-workers have lost a trusted colleague, and I, along with so many others, have lost an irreplaceable friend.

For me, 15 years was too short. But WHAT an amazing 15 years it has been.

Rick, from all of us, thanks for everything. :)